


No Strings Attached

by therunawaypen



Series: 00Q Tumblr Prompt Fills [95]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies), Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bondlock, F/M, M/M, Q is a Holmes, Red String of Fate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-05
Updated: 2014-04-15
Packaged: 2018-01-18 07:05:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1419154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therunawaypen/pseuds/therunawaypen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone has threads attaching them to the ones meant to be in their lives: blue for family, green for friends, red for lovers.</p><p>James can see everyone's threads, though he pretends he can't. Because he's a Breaker, destroyer of threads. He's the monster who can destroy any relationship.</p><p>He's kept his secret for as long as he can remember. But then he meets Q, who seems to have no threads of his own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Red String of Fate AU. Everyone is connected to other people by strings that only they and the person at the other end can see. Red is for soulmates, green for friendship etc. The most feared people in all the lands are string cutters. They can sever the strings between people, almost like a dementor's kiss for relationships. Bond is a breaker of Bonds. Q is part of an extreme minority. Those who can forge strings, but have none of their own. --anon

James knew he was different because he could see threads. And not just his own, a green thread that stretched out to the horizon and beyond. He once commented to his parents that their thread was a nice shade of red. Of course, being a child, he hadn’t known that he wasn’t supposed to see anyone’s thread but his own.

At first, his parents had seemed rather happy that he could see their thread. They asked him if he was sad he didn’t have a thread of his own. Of course, he explained that he did in fact have threads, the green one being predominant and brightest out of the bunch, not to mention the blue ones that connected him to his parents.

Learning that their son did have threads of his own had squelched Mr. and Mrs. Bond’s good mood. They were quick to tell him not to let anyone know that he could see threads. Ever.

It wasn’t until after his parents’ death years later that James understood why he should never admit to his ability to see threads. He was a Breaker, destroyer of relationships. He was the monster in every love story, the thing that had to be conquered.

For years, James kept the knowledge about his status tucked away in the back of his head. He could function as a normal human being, with friendships and relationships, without anyone knowing the wiser.

It was during his first mission as a 00 agent that he finally stooped to becoming a monster. Meeting Vesper Lynd had been his undoing. He could see the red thread of hers that went off into the distance (not that he mentioned seeing it, of course), but that didn’t stop him from becoming enamored with her. After everything they went through together, he thought she loved him too.

And then she betrayed him, taking the money and running off.

James did his job, trying to salvage the mission as best he could. Seeing her again, however, filled him with such hurt and rage that he didn’t know what to do with himself. Before he could stop himself, he snatched the red thread coming from Vesper’s heart and, in a single motion, snapped it clean. The red slowly bled from the thread until it was nothing, and the horror on Vesper’s face was something James would never forget. The fact that she would rather drown herself than allow him near her would haunt him for the rest of his life.

He tried to convince himself that it wasn’t his fault Vesper had drowned herself, that she had made her choice. But the darkness in his heart reminded him how he had, literally, broken her heart.

And so James refused to be a monster again. He’d never feel again.

When James met Alec, who was on the other end of his green thread, he felt relatively human. It made pretending easier.

When Eve shot him and he fell to his “death,” he thought perhaps he could get away. As long as Alec didn’t mention that their green thread was as strong as ever.

When he came back to MI6, James was tired. So very tired.

“Makes me feel melancholy…”

James spared the boy next to him a glance, and was startled by what he saw. Or rather, didn’t see. Which were threads. Not a single thread came from the boy’s heart. No red, no green, not even a blue.  He was just…there.

Hoping to excuse himself from the unnerving boy’s presence, James stood.

“007.”

Of course it wouldn’t be so simple. James sighed as he sat down once more as the boy spoke again, “I’m your new Quartermaster.”

“You’re joking.” James wasn’t amused. It was bad enough the kid gave him the creeps, but now he was Quartermaster?

“I assure you, I’m not.” The boy ( _Q_ , he corrected _)_ adjusted his glasses, “But judging by the way you’ve stared at my heart, I take it that it isn’t my age that unnerves you.”

James blinked. He hadn’t realized he had been that obvious. “It’s not every day you meet someone with no threads.”

“It’s not every day you meet someone who can see those threads, or lack thereof.” Q countered, “And in case you’re wondering, I’ve never had any threads.”

Raising an eyebrow, James replied, “Maker, then?”

Q nodded, “And I would assume you’re a Breaker.” Seeing James tense up, he continued, “I’m hardly going to tell anyone. It’s your secret, and I couldn’t tell anyone without revealing my secret as well.”

“I’m surprised you don’t want the world to know, Makers are adored.” James muttered bitterly.

“Oh yes, because it can’t be complicated at all making new threads, especially if people blame you if things go wrong.” Q drawled.

James snorted, “People and their threads…” After a moment, James turned to Q, hand out, “Quartermaster.”

“007.” Q shook his hand smiling, “Breaker.”

“Maker.”


	2. Chapter 2

It was strange for James, knowing someone who could see the same things he could see. The way Q would give him a knowing look whenever they saw people who were connected (especially people they didn’t imagine being connected), the way he and Q would share discussions about fate and how Makers and Breakers fit into the grand scheme of Fate’s threads.

There was one thing James had yet to learn about Q though…

“Why aren’t you afraid of Breakers?” He finally asked one day, as he and Q sat in Q’s office, enjoying some Thai food as they worked on paperwork.

Q paused, chewing his food deliberately. When he was finished, he leaned over and flipped a switch that was on the underside of the desk. James recognized the switch as the security switch Q used to blackout all feeds in the office, making it a safe haven.

“What I’m about to tell you, James, is not to leave this office. Ever.” Q said firmly, before taking another bite of curry, “…My brother is a Breaker.”

James blinked, “Brother?”

Q nodded, “Yes, brother.” He chuckled, “I know it’s MI6’s unofficial protocol to recruit orphans, but…what can I say, I’m the best.”

Rolling his eyes, James took another bite of his Pad Thai, “I take it that you aren’t meant to reveal anything about your past?”

The question earned James an incredulous look from Q, “I go by a letter instead of a name, of course I’m not meant to reveal my family history.” He snorted, “Which is why none of this leaves this room, got it?”

“Of course.” James nodded, “So…your brother is a Breaker. That is some luck on your parents’ part, getting a Maker and a Breaker.”

“Two Makers.” Q corrected, taking a drink of his water, “I have two brothers. We can all see threads, and we’re all geniuses.”

“And so modest.” James teased.

Q smirked, “Modesty is for those amateurs.” He stated simply, “But we were always…odd.”

Seeing the pensive look on Q’s face, James leaned back in his chair, “I take it being able to see threads didn’t help you.”

A scoff escaped Q’s throat, “You could say that. It was hard enough thinking everyone around us were complete idiots—and they are, trust me—but to have to keep secret about our abilities didn’t help.” He paused, “My brother, the Breaker…he fell in with the wrong crowd and got addicted to cocaine…from what my other brother told me, during one of his cocaine binges, he took all his threads…and broke them all…”

James stared. He _broke his own_ threads? Why would anyone—?

“He claimed that he didn’t need relationships—sentiment—and that now none of the brothers had threads.” Q answered as if reading his mind, shaking his head.

“And I thought I had problems.” James sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Q nodded, “Yeah, my oldest brother and I have been watching him to try and create some new threads.” He smiled softly, “he’s got a few green threads now, and of course the blue threads that connected him to our parents…neither my brother or I feel like we could create a red thread for him…After all, we don’t have threads of our own.”

James snorted, “That didn’t stop us from becoming friends. Not a green thread in sight, and we get along just fine.” He smirked, “I bet I could lean over and kiss you right now, red thread be damned, and we could have a damn good time.”

An eyebrow disappeared beneath Q’s messy hair, “Why 007, are you trying to seduce me?” He grinned.

“No,” James answered, leaning forward, “I’m trying to kiss you.”


	3. Chapter 3

Most people would never even consider getting into a relationship with someone that they didn’t share strings with. Even more liberal individuals, who wouldn’t mind dating someone who wasn’t their red thread, preferred to keep their relationships with those who were at least one of their green threads.

Granted, most people weren’t James. And most people weren’t in bed with a Maker, who had no threads at all.

James lay in bed for a few minutes, simply watching Q as he slept in that morning. He’d never say it out loud, but he loved the way Q looked in his sleep, even if it did make him look even younger than usual. The way his hair was mussed during sleep (or the activities they were partaking in before sleep…), the soft shape of his face, the unobstructed view of his eyes once his glasses were gone.

He groaned. He had it bad, in a way he had sworn he would never feel again after Vesper.

But Q… Well, in short, Q understood the complexities of being an anomaly. Even though Q was a Maker, not a Breaker like James, he knew from personal experience just how difficult it was to hide one’s identity from the rest of society.

In the end, perhaps that made all the difference.

“You have that melancholy look again…” Q murmured, eyes half open as he looked up at James.

James shook his head, ruffling Q’s hair, “You just like using that word, don’t you?”

The Quartermaster huffed, sitting up in their bed (sheets pooling around his naked waist, to James’s glee), “Well you do tend to get that look on your face when you watch me sleep.”

“And you have a lovely expression when you watch me watch you sleep.” James got up, “Shall I make you some tea?”

Q groaned, “We’re out of tea, I finished the last of it last night.”

“I can always run to the store and fetch some.” James nodded, grabbing some clothes, “Earl Grey, yes?”

“That’s always a safe assumption.” Q smiled, laying back in bed, “Hurry back.”

James rolled his eyes, though he had a smile on his face. The domesticity of it all…it was a life James had never pictured for himself.

The corner store was very familiar to James, having made plenty of trips to it ever since he moved in with Q. It had even gotten to the point in which he didn’t have to look through the store to find where the tea was. The particular brand of tea wasn’t of overwhelming quality, but Q claimed it was more than enough to get him awake in the morning, and that he kept “the good stuff” at his desk in Q branch.

But as James picked up the box of Earl Grey, he spied a head of messy black hair in the corner of his eyes. Turning his head, James prepared to make a smart comment about Q finally finding the will to get out of bed without his precious Earl Grey.

Only it wasn’t Q. For one, the man standing in front of the milk cooler was much taller than Q. Second, he was wearing a long coat which Q did not own.

Lastly, he had threads.

Of course, he didn’t have many. In fact, it was the fewest number of threads James had ever seen (Q not included). Two blue threads, and two green threads. Even the loneliest of people had more threads than that…

But that was when the man turned and looked at James. Their eyes met for a moment, followed by a quick flickering glance to James’s threads. No doubt most people never would have even noticed the glance, but James was used to noticing every action of others. When their eyes met once more, each of them knew about the other.

A smirk tugged at the man’s lips, and James could tell what he was thinking. Because James was thinking the same thing.


End file.
